1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses and methods, and programs therefor, and in particular, to an information processing apparatus and method that can easily and quickly initiate editing, and a program therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, optical disks have become used as recording media for broadcasting-service camcorders because of their mass storage and increased data transfer speed. For example, a type of optical disk on which video data and audio data are recorded by blue-violet light-emitting diodes has approximately 2.3 GB in the case of single-side recording, and has a data transfer speed (recording rate) of 50 Mbps or greater, though it differs depending on a data compression ratio.
In the case of capturing pictures by using the above optical disk and a broadcasting-service camcorder, the camcorder records, on the optical disk, not only main data obtained by compressing the captured pictures at a relatively low compression ratio so as to prevent picture quality from deteriorating, but also data, such as proxy video data (low-resolution video data), obtained by compressing the captured pictures at a compression ratio higher than that of the main data (see, for example, International Publication No. 01/60062 pamphlet).
For captured sound, not only main audio data, but also proxy audio data having a high compression ratio is created, if needed.
In recent years, proxy video data and proxy audio data have become commonly used. Both types of data are used for so-called nonlinear editing. After being captured by a personal computer, they are used as material for the editing. When the personal computer or the like is used to perform nonlinear editing, its processing ability will become insufficient, so that it is impossible for high-recording-rate main data as described above to be directly used as material to be edited.
Editing in which proxy video data is used as material may be called “proxy editing”. The proxy editing is performed as simple editing in, for example, a place for picture capturing. The result of the proxy editing is transmitted to a piece of equipment, such as an apparatus in a studio for final data for broadcasting, through a network, separately from main data which is to be delivered in a form recorded on an optical disk. In that studio, the main data is edited based on the transmitted result of the proxy editing. This creates final video data for broadcasting.
In order to perform the proxy editing in the place for picture capturing by using an optical disk apparatus having a built-in hard disk, after removing, from the camcorder, an optical disk having captured data, the editor must perform a consecutive operation of loading the optical disk into the optical disk apparatus, and operating the optical disk apparatus to select proxy video data and proxy audio data (files) to be stored on the hard disk.
Accordingly, when video data and audio data are recorded on a plurality of optical disks by picture capturing for a long time, a problem occurs in that an operation up to proxy editing is complicated since the editor must perform the consecutive operation for the number of optical disks in order to initiate editing.